The Department of Chemical Engineering of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, in collaboration with the Department of Water Technology, SRH University Heidelberg, Germany, has organised a weeklong “H2O for Life” Summer School from 27th March to 1st April 2023.
The Summer School was funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funds from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
The event which was held under the theme “Tackling water pollution in developing countries - Emerging water and wastewater treatment technologies” aimed at building students’ capacity and equipping them with relevant knowledge and skills to solve societal problems.
The Provost of the College of Engineering, KNUST, Professor Kwabena Biritwum Nyarko, in his welcome address, emphasised the importance of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, which is fundamental to people’s health and quality of life. He stated that it is one of the key targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 6 to ensure that everyone has safely managed water and sanitation by 2030. Professor Nyarko added that ensuring a sustainable supply of clean water to meet diverse needs requires in-depth knowledge of water treatment technologies and sustainability approaches to managing freshwater resources. Thus, the Summer School “H2O for life” was dedicated to addressing one of the greatest challenges of our time and one of the most pressing problems in Ghana.
Professor Nyarko believes that the Summer School will increase the knowledge of participants in the field of water technology, updating them on the state-of-the-art research and technologies for water and wastewater treatment. He hopes that the programme will stimulate the exchange of knowledge and sharing of experiences between the participants and lecturers in tackling the growing problems of water pollution in the African Region to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Professor Dr. Thomas Sterr, representative from the University of Heidelberg, Germany, noted that “H2O for life” is an important challenge that needs to be addressed to guarantee the survival of species. He explained in his presentation on ‘Water pollution and water scarcity in developing countries - causes and challenges for management’ that water is a very complex issue that is interrelated in the SDGs. He further stated that the Summer School, therefore, seeks to train participants and equip them with the requisite knowledge and understanding of the methodologies to tackling water pollution issues.
Dr. Hanson Mensah-Akutteh, the Ashanti Regional Chief Manager of the Ghana Water Company Ltd., took the participants through the methods of treating the various sources of water to drinking water quality standards.
Similarly, Emeritus Prof. Francis Momade from KNUST also gave lectures on the problem of fluoride contamination of some groundwater resources in Ghana and how the problem could be addressed.
About 40 participants attended the programme in person, while 20 others joined online. These participants, with different academic backgrounds, were made up of undergraduate and postgraduate students and young researchers, carefully selected from all over Ghana and some African countries.
The Summer School was sectioned into two parts Water Pollution: A Man-Made Problem; Water and Wastewater Treatment to allow students and young researchers share ideas on emerging water and wastewater treatment technologies and how to tackle water pollution in developing countries.
As part of the programme, participants paid field visits to some water treatment sites in the Ashanti Region and were also involved in social events such as a city tour of Kumasi, including visits to the Manhyia palace, and some local souvenir markets to help foster interactions and networking among the participants and their lecturers.
The programme was jointly organised by Dr. Augustine Ntiamoah and Prof. Nana Yaw Asiedu from KNUST and Dr. Kenneth Bedu-Addo from SRH University of Heidelberg, Germany.